* ''YMMV/SuperMarioKart''* ''YMMV/MarioKart64''* ''YMMV/MarioKartSuperCircuit''* ''YMMV/MarioKartDoubleDash''* ''YMMV/MarioKartDS''* ''YMMV/MarioKartWii''* ''YMMV/MarioKart7''* ''YMMV/MarioKart8''----%%Even in {{Fanon}}, the Spiny Shell isn't a MemeticMolester. It's an ''item''. It's ThatOneAttack, and a ScrappyMechanic, but not a molester.* EightPointEight:** Gamespot (of "Mario Kart 64 is a 6.4" infamy) was bashed into the ground for handing out ''Mario Kart 7'' an 8.0 when the general consensus is higher than an 8.5.** And then Jim Sterling gave ''Mario Kart 7'' a 5 out of 10, due to ItsTheSameNowItSucks. The fans weren't happy, [[http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/225/698/11746288.jpg especially due to higher scores given to more formulaic games.]]* AccidentalInnuendo: Given how the commentary works in ''Arcade GP 2'', the announcer may say some... interesting things.--> "BOWSER is banging away-- MS. PAC MAN! BANG BANG BANG!"* AuthorsSavingThrow: ''Mario Kart Wii'' got released in Europe first. This is most likely in order to make up for Nintendo's earlier announcement they would release ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' in June 27, 2008, that is, three and a half months after North America's March 9, 2008.* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Plenty in every game. [[AwesomeMusic/MarioKart This page]] has more information.* BaseBreakingCharacter:** Daisy, who is mentioned as a base breaker across the [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros franchise]], is in some of the later games (her classic "[[MemeticMutation Hi, I'm Daisy!]]" line comes from ''Double Dash'').** Rosalina was very popular online in ''8''. This led to several people becoming sick of seeing her in every race, especially before the DLC.** Miis starting with ''Wii''. Some love playing with their personal avatars while others think they feel awkward in the Mario universe.** The DLC characters in ''8''. While there are fans who love the crossover aspect and don't mind Cat Peach and Tanooki Mario, others see them as a waste of money, or feel that ''Zelda'' and ''Animal Crossing'' don't gel well with the ''Mario'' universe.** Also from ''8'' are the Koopalings. Is their inclusion well-deserved, or does it fill up the roster with lazy choices?* BestLevelEver:** ''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!'' features Mushroom City, a race around the eponymous city which features many forks that can shave precious seconds off your lap times; Wario Colosseum, a rollercoaster-esque circuit [[MarathonLevel which is so long that a normal race takes only 2 laps instead of the usual 3]]; and Baby Park, which is the smallest course in the entire series but which compensates by having ''seven laps'' and which often evolves into a ridiculous, chaotic mess with shells bouncing off of every wall.** ''Mario Kart DS'' has Waluigi Pinball, which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: a giant pinball machine where players are launched to the top, then race back down while avoiding bumpers and giant pinballs. It even replaces the sound effects with 8-bit, casino-style jingles. Airship Fortress is also popular due to its clever and challenging design and being based on the already-popular airship levels from ''Super Mario Bros. 3''.** ''Mario Kart Wii'' has Koopa Cape, which features a large river that speeds up players that drive in it, and a shark tunnel. ''Mario Kart 7'' takes it one step further by filling the shark tunnel with water to complement its underwater driving mechanic.** ''Mario Kart 7'' introduces courses that forgo the usual roundabout design, instead using checkpoints rather than one finish line. Most people regard these as the best tracks in the game, especially Rainbow Road.** ''Mario Kart Arcade GP DX'', as of its major content update, features two ''VideoGame/PacMan''-themed tracks (PAC-MAN Stadium and [=NAMCO=] Circuit) which serve as homages to not only Pac-Man himself but also several of Namco's classic arcade titles such as ''VideoGame/{{Galaxian}}'', ''VideoGame/DigDug'', ''VideoGame/{{Mappy}}'', and ''VideoGame/TheTowerOfDruaga''.* BreatherLevel: ''Mario Kart 64''[='=]s Rainbow Road, unlike the tracks before it and its ''Super Mario Kart'' counterpart, is merely extremely long, and, unlike later incarnations, has rails on the entire track instead of just the curves. * BrokenBase: ** Before it was fixed for online mode, Maka Wuhu had one for the online players due to the infamous cliff-falling glitch that puts the user of it ahead of others by several seconds. One portion considered it unfair for those who don't know about it or just wanted a simple race, while the other portion said it was fair game for anyone since it's in there.** Similarly, snaking in ''Mario Kart DS''. Some took advantage of it, while others (derogatorily referred to as {{Scrub}}s by the other side of the base) thought it was cheating. And others don't mind either way.** Is "Nintendo Kart" the next logical step for the ''Mario Kart'' series, especially after the introduction of crossover DLC characters in ''8''? Better hope you have a riot shelter to dunk into when this debate is brought up.** With the increased focus on kart combinations, there's been a lot of debate/arguments over whether or not characters should have a factor in the kart's overall stats or not. Those for it often bring up fighting games for comparison and how certain characters will always shine above the rest and, even if character stats didn't way in, people would still pick [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome very few specific kart combos]] in order to have the best chance of winning. Those against it often cite how it creates infamous situations like "Funky Bike Wii", "Metal Mario Kart 7" and "Morton Kart 8", and hate how people are forced to forgo playing as their preferred character, often for one they don't like/despies, just to have a chance at placing decently in online games. * CharacterTiers: In every single game. Notable examples are:** ''Mario Kart 64'' has Toad, Peach, and Yoshi, who drive circles around any of the other racers.** ''Mario Kart Wii'' has each character give invisible bonuses, with the more favorable quickly reaching TierInducedScrappy levels. Expect to see Funky Kong and Daisy a lot.** ''8'''s tier system is based on weight classes; Bowser, Morton, Wario, and heavy Miis are ubiquitous in Time Trials. It's averted in casual play and especially 200cc, though.** ''7'' is the only game that averts this altogether. There's no real "tier" system, and every character can be used just about equally, though Metal Mario is very common.* ComplacentGamingSyndrome:** Almost a standard in ''Wii'', where most people will only use a bike and certain characters just for the sake of being slightly faster than others. So bad is this that the game was given the nickname ''Funky Bike Wii''.** In ''Mario Kart 7'', Metal Mario became the go-to character for competitive players because heavyweights were considered to have an advantage, and Metal Mario takes up the least amount of screen space. Between that and Japanese players' love for Metal Mario, he became the most-used character in ''Mario Kart 7'' by far.** The B Dasher in ''7'' is very common online, to the point it's almost as common as Metal Mario is. In fact, it's not hard at all to see multiple players with a Metal Mario/B Dasher combination on the same group. Its top speed bonus on land is the highest in the game, but while other karts with the same speed sacrifice handling, the B Dasher adds handling instead, making it easier to control. It has a few weaknesses, like bad off-road and being lighter than similar karts (while still having an acceleration penalty), but that doesn't stop the players...* EnsembleDarkhorse** Waluigi. Many were sad when he was omitted in ''7''. But he was one of the first characters announced to be returning in ''8'', making his fans very happy.** Koopa Troopa is a favorite in ''Super Mario Kart'', and is still popular even today.** Similar to Koopa Troopa, Dry Bones is one of the most popular racers from ''Mario Kart DS'', ''Mario Kart Wii'', and ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe''.** Metal Mario, particularly among ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' fans since he joined the Mario Kart roster in ''7''.** Wiggler from ''7'' was also surprisingly popular, to the point that some fans lamented its exclusion in ''8''.** Diddy Kong, thanks to being the first Creator/{{Rare}}-created character to actually be incorporated in the extended Mario universe starting in ''Double Dash!!'' Funky Kong, another Rare-created character, enjoyed similar popularity, even though he has only appeared in ''Wii''.** Item-wise, there's the Bullet Bill, which many fans actually wish would outright replace the ScrappyMechanic Spiny Shell once and for all.* FandomRivalry: ** With that of ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'', due to their vastly different approaches to steering and the effect of items in a race. Mario Kart has a slower pace, cartoon-like physics, and items that impact outcomes in significant ways, whereas ''Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed'' emphasizes fast-paced arcade-style racing with deliberately weak items and strong defenses against long-range items. In other words, Mario Kart games are about rapid shuffling of positions where no one is safe, whereas '"Transformed'' is built around long, sustained leads and defensive driving. As a result, fandom wars have broken out about which gameplay style is more fun and more fair. While this rivalry isn't quite as widespread or well-known as most other video game rivalries, it is among the most bitter, as Mario Kart is the poster child of [[LuckBasedMission luck-based video gaming]], deserved or not.** Over time, one has built up with the ''VideoGame/FZero'' fanbase, mostly because ever since ''F-Zero GX'', Nintendo seems to have started focusing more on ''Mario Kart''. ''Mario Kart 8'' introduces several ''F-Zero'' tracks as well as [=200cc=] mode, which has led some to believe that Nintendo will never make another ''F-Zero'' game again.* GameBreaker:** Toad, Yoshi, and Peach are ''by far'' the fastest characters in ''64'' and ''Super Circuit'' due to the way the weight classes' stats were distributed. Normally in the series, lighter characters have better acceleration and handling, while heavier characters have better weight and top speeds. In these two games, the acceleration and top speed bonuses are swapped between the lightweights and heavyweights.** "Snaking" is a technique where you constantly powerslide back and forth to gain mini-turbos on straightaways (normally you're only supposed to get mini-turbos when making a sharp turn). It's been essential for setting world records since at least ''Mario Kart Double Dash'', but was [[{{Nerf}} rendered almost impossible]] from ''Wii'' onwards by making the mini-turbo dependent on how hard you turn during your powerslide.** Bikes in ''Wii'' massively overshadow karts. More so with characters like Baby Luigi, Funky Kong or Daisy. ''Especially'' Funky Kong. They eventually lost the ability to gain additional speed by performing wheelies in ''8''.** The series has tracks that can cut down on your laps greatly due if you abuse exploits of the checkpoint system (this determines where Lakitu drops you off if you fall from the track). A notable one is the glitch in the Grumble Volcano track in Mario Kart Wii; if done correctly, the player can finish the race in 30 seconds or less. Naturally, nearly everyone abused the exploit online and it was more obvious when people started to spam vote for the track. Mario Kart 7 has a similar one with the Maka Wuhu track that allows people to skip huge sections of the course, found just days after the game was released. This was eventually patched out.** Several items are game breakers depending on the game they are used in:*** ''Super Mario Kart'' has the mushroom give a huge boost and the star gives players insane speed boosts for several seconds which allows them to cut across tracks with dirt/water/sand, etc. These items were nerfed and adjusted to be less game breaking but still useful, but perhaps the biggest game-breaker is the Feather, which allows you to jump over the boundaries of the track, allowing for massive shortcuts. It was 25 years before it made another appearance as an item, and even then, it's exclusive to battle mode.*** The multi-banana peel in ''Mario Kart 64'' gives you a trail of 5 peels, which means up to 5 shields from shell attacks[[note]]Though if one object strikes the trail of bananas following your driver without you laying them down, the entire trail erupts, leaving you with nothing[[/note]] and also 5 peels to spray the tracks with. Later games reduce the item to 3 peels[[note]]but allow each banana to block one attack each[[/note]].*** ''Mario Kart Super Circuit'' gave red shells a secondary function by allowing players to drop it behind them and the next player that passes it gets attacked by it. This made it too easy to place it by gaps or jumps in order to make people fall off the track, so the function got removed in future games.** Nearly every special item in ''Mario Kart Double Dash!!'' is a game breaker: Mario and Luigi's fireballs are a fast-moving SpreadShot that can hit multiple people. Bowser and Bowser Jr.'s giant shell is basically a faster and bigger version of the green shell that's difficult to avoid. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's giant banana peel is also difficult to avoid, and it splits into 3 smaller peels when struck. Yoshi and Birdo's egg attack homes in on players and releases several items when it breaks, Stars being among them. Peach and Daisy's hearts allow them to absorb up to two items, including most special items [[note]] though not bob-ombs, blue shells or chain chomps [[/note]], for their own use later. Baby Mario and Baby Luigi have the Chain Chomp, which not only boosts their speed while it's out but also wrecks any obstacle in its path (including other racers). Koopa and Paratroopa have exclusive control over the Triple Red/Green Shells. Toad and Toadette can spam the Golden Mushroom for an absurdly long time and jump to the front of the pack, and Wario and Waluigi can use the Bob-omb to blow the other racers off of the road. [[UpToEleven And Petey Piranha and King Boo can use ALL of the special items we just listed.]]** The Boo item turns the player invisible, which makes them immune to all forms of attack, and steals another player's item. Players can also drive off road in ''DS'' and ''8 Deluxe'' without loss of speed with the Boo item.** Maple Treeway in ''Wii'' and ''7'' has piles of leaves that often contain items. One of the items you can get is a Super Star. And you can pick this up in any place you're in.** Double-shielding with items (holding one item in the reserve, and another behind you to protect from attacks). This was removed from ''8'', but is essentially back for ''Deluxe'' by allowing players to hold on to two items each.** The Egg 1 kart is a bottle rocket. It boasts extremely fast acceleration, tight steering, and good handling in general. The Egg 1 became an excellent vehicle for posting superb time trial records in ''DS'' because its ultimate weapon is snaking abuse. A bit watered down in ''7'', where you can customize the wheels to adjust its stats (Roller wheels replicate its acceleration perks) and snaking has been jolted from gameplay. The only downside is that it gets flung far away if a heavier vehicle strikes it.* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Metal Mario is a BaseBreakingCharacter overseas, as he is seen as a "lazy Mario clone", but Japanese players absolutely ''worship'' him. Zigzagged, however, in that Metal Mario technically ''was'' created in Japan.* GoddamnedBats: Some levels have hazards which can pop out at bad times to slow you down, including sliding walls, falling presses, and, yes, bats. Sometimes, the goddamned bats can be the other racers themselves, as they can get in your way when you are trying to pass them or crash into them while performing a power slide, causing you to lose your momentum. This is much more noticeable with the AI, since they don't deviate from their preferred path too much.* HellIsThatNoise: The distinctive, deep whooshing sound of a blue Shell being unleashed and rushing towards its victim is this when you're in first place. It's often audible long before it arrives, too, since many tracks have things like bridges or jumps over previous parts of the track, leaving the dread hanging in the air building up to its arrival.* HilariousInHindsight: ** According to ''VideoGame/WiiSports Resort'', only electric cars are permitted on Wuhu Island. That's apparently not the case anymore, according to ''7''. [[ExactWords Apparently the restriction doesn't apply to karts, just "cars"?]]** ''64'''s manual mentions Wario built Wario Stadium as a motocross track instead of a traditional speedway. 11 years later bikes were introduced in ''Wii''. Bonus points for bikes being more popular.** ''7'' features Rosalina's Ice World, an [[SlippySlideyIceWorld icy course]] apparently created by a blonde "princess" in a blue dress. [[{{Disney/Frozen}} Two years later...]]** When ''Wii'' was first released, many players felt that Koopa Cape's SharkTunnel feels like [[VideoGame/FZero Big Blue]]. Several years later, the real deal Big Blue was included as a DLC track for ''8''.* InternetBackdraft: The choices for some of the characters in ''Mario Kart 7'' and ''8''. Specifically** Baby characters like Baby Daisy and Baby Rosalina, who have not made any outside appearances aside from spinoff games, while Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and Baby Peach have appeared in games like ''Partners In Time''.** Clone characters like Metal Mario, Pink Gold Peach, Tanooki Mario, and Cat Peach, who take up too many character slots.** Characters like Honey Bee Queen, who had a bit part in ''Super Mario Galaxy'', over Waluigi, who's proven to be a fan-favorite in Mario Kart. Especially jarring because ''7'' had [[BestLevelEver Waluigi Pinball]] from ''DS'' return while Waluigi didn't.** Downplayed with the Koopalings, whom were welcomed with open arms, but it has not gone unnoticed that they have taken up quite a few character slots. Some people also commented that they feel incomplete without Bowser Jr, who appeared in ''Double Dash!!'' and ''Wii''. ** All in all, it was [[AuthorsSavingThrow saved]] when King Boo, Dry Bones, and Bowser Jr were brought back in ''Deluxe'', along with the introduction of characters from other franchises by DLC and extra content in ''Deluxe''.* ItsTheSameNowItSucks:** ''Super Circuit'' got some of this reaction from people. It's a handheld ''Super Mario Kart'' with the graphics and sound effects from ''64''.** As with ''Wii'', seeing as bikes and the online are the only new main additions. Reactions switched when the online access support was dropped.* MemeticMutation:** It's very common to find people declaring the Spiny Shell a destroyer of dreams.** A common response to people saying UsefulNotes/FirstPost is to send a Spiny Shell at them.** [[VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash HI I'M DAISY!]]** One nickname for ''Mario Kart Wii'' is "Funky Bike Wii" due to the {{Game Break|er}}ing [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome combo of Funky Kong on a bike]].* MorePopularSpinoff: Since the release of ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash'' on the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube, the Mario Kart games have actually consistently outsold their platformer counterparts.* MostAnnoyingSound:** In ''Mario Kart Wii'', characters scream things like "YEAH!" or "WOOHOOOOOO!" at the top of their lungs for almost everything they do, even for little things like mini-turbos and wheelies. Although certain characters get more attention for it than others, when it comes down to it, every character could be considered equally annoying due to the cartoony ear-piercing voices. ** When playing with a Mii in ''7'', get ready for "YEP YO! YEP YO! YO! YEP YEP! YEP YO!"** [[MemeticMutation HI I'M DAISY HI I'M DAISY HI I'M DAISY]] from ''Double Dash''.** Funky Kong in ''Wii'' is very loud, very [[LargeHam hammy]], and is without question one of the most popular characters to use in competitive play. Every third race online had a bad tendency to be punctuated by a chorus of "GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO! AHRAHRAEHERAHEHEYYYYYY! WOOOO! WOOHOO! HUH-NAARHT!"** Toad from Mario Kart 64. "HERE WE GO! ''I'M'' THE ''BEST!'' '''AHHHHHHHH!'''"** Honey Queen. BZZZZZZ BZZ-BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!** Rosalina in ''8'' has a much [[CuteButCacophonic higher-pitched]] voice than normal, and considering her massive presence in online races, you'll probably be hearing it quite often. Then there's ''Baby Rosalina''!** Crashing into penguins, plants, moles, etc. in ''64'' plays this horrible squealing noise.** The "incoming shell" beeping alert. Especially when it's a blue shell and you can't do anything about it.** The beeping sound when you've got shells spinning around your kart in ''7'', especially if you've played the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series, you can mistake it for the CriticalAnnoyance alerts when Samus is low on energy.* MostWonderfulSound:** [[http://www.mariowiki.com/images/3/36/Mkdd_double_item_box.jpg The Double Item Box.]] Polyphony at its finest.** The Bullet Bill's acceleration sounds, if you're in a low ranking.** The sound when passing the goal, especially in first place. It sounds a little like a sigh of relief, and that's what players probably are breathing, too.** The rising jingle used for when you cross the finish line at the end of the first lap.** Despite serving as [[HellIsThatNoise one of the opposing tropes]] when you're going to be on the receiving end, hearing a blue Shell's signature jet-like rushing sound when you're in one of the better positions that isn't its target, ''especially'' second place, is almost always a great relief.* NightmareFuel: Metal Mario and Pink Gold Peach have blank sclera for eyes, unnervingly enough.* ReplacementScrappy: [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy Honey Queen]] got this for being chosen over fan-favorite veterans like Waluigi in ''Mario Kart 7''.* TheScrappy:** The Honey Queen Bee in ''7'', as she is an extremely minor character who had just appeared in a small handful of missions in the ''Super Mario Galaxy'' games before and is widely considered as being undeserving of a spot in the roster. Her [[MostAnnoyingSound horrendous voice acting]] doesn't help matters, either.** Metal Mario is even considered a Scrappy to some people, because he is only a Metal version of Mario with slightly heavier stats. Some people [[MostAnnoyingSound even hate his voice]]. That being said, Japanese players love him. Pink Gold Peach gets it much worse, for not having the same EnsembleDarkhorse history as Metal Mario and having no basis in any previous games, leading to some accusations of artificially inflating the roster by making characters up. This was only further fueled by the addition of Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach as DLC in ''8'', leading to ''four'' sets of Mario and Peach variations.** Any baby character except Baby Mario and maybe Baby Luigi and Baby Peach, due to them appearing in ''Yoshi's Island'' and ''Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time'', has gotten shades of this, due to all of them being similar to one another. Baby Daisy and Baby Rosalina get it most for, much like Pink Gold Peach above, having no basis in any previous ''Mario'' games and apparently just being made up to make the roster bigger. Why Baby Wario and Baby DK didn't make it in before them is boggling, because at least the latter two babies have a place in Mario canon. (Said game being ''VideoGame/YoshisIslandDS'')** Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach are especially hated due to them being literal clones of Mario and Peach in power-up outfits, and thus having no purpose as playable characters. Even worse is the fact that they created new animations for them instead of just reusing Mario and Peach's animations.* ScrappyMechanic:** The Spiny Shell, if the examples floating around don't make it clear enough. Sure, it's annoying when you're in first and then you get hit by the Spiny Shell allowing every other racer a chance to pass or catch up to you, but it also doubles as a PowerUpLetDown for the Spiny Shell user. Even if the user can stop the 1st place guy, they still have several other racers ahead to contend with. Thankfully the Spiny Shell received a nerf in the DS, 3DS, and Wii U/Switch installments, since you can see items racers collect in both installments and act accordingly, but also the shell was stripped of its wings from Mario Kart 7 onward.** The Thunder Cloud from ''Wii'' is even more reviled. The idea is that you get a big increase to your speed as long as you have the cloud above you, but it zaps you after a few seconds. The result is that the player has to choose whether to pass it on to an opponent and lose the speed buff, or keep it and risk getting shrunken. All in all, not ''too'' bad, yet for some reason the game designers made it so that it triggers as soon as you get the powerup, regardless of where you are on the track. The final nail that makes it such a hated item is that it can be picked up in ''any position'', even in last place. Needless to say, many fans are glad that it hasn't reappeared in any other game.** The Lightning Bolt as well, which it really shouldn't be considering it affects everyone else with it, with characters closer to the lead being affected for longer periods. The problem comes from it being rigged to happen too often and making you often lose your defensive item just as a red shell is coming. And of course, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard the AI will coordinate its racers so that they'll use a Spiny Shell just before they use the Lightning]][[note]](If it used the lightning first, like two human players might do, it would destroy the Spiny Shell)[[/note]], [[HumiliationConga setting first place up for a distressingly common one-two punch.]] To make matters worse, if the lightning bolt strikes you while your glider is deployed, it disappears as you fall into the abyss below. Unlike the Spiny Shell, which got a foil in the Super Horn in ''8'', there's ''no'' way to purposefully protect yourself from this (you ''can'' try to fall off course and hope that the lighting strikes when Lakitu is dragging you back on the road, but it's more or less a fluke).** Coins. You need to hold coins to increase your speed (the boost caps at 10 coins) and getting hit by items, crashing into course hazards, or falling off the track makes you lose coins. In the first game and ''Super Circuit'', bumping into another racer makes you lose a coin! In some games, coins are also an item to give you 2 coins instantly, which doesn't help ''at all'' when it comes to protecting yourself from racers behind you or to attack the ones in front, not to mention that they can appear just as likely ''when you already have the maximum capacity of 10 coins on hand''. ''Mario Kart 7'' changes the coins mechanic slightly where not having a lot of coins won't totally screw you over and bumping into people won't make you lose coins, but you can't hold more than 10 coins and you will lose 3 coins (or two if your coin count is low) every time you get attacked or fall off the track, which makes holding onto your coins a pain in the ass. Luckily, coins regenerate. Unluckily, you need to collect coins to unlock parts for your kart, and you will be playing for a long time since you will need to collect several ''thousand'' coins and even beyond 10,000 coins just to get everything. This is made worse due to only being able to hold up to 10 coins per race.** The Super Leaf in ''Mario Kart 7''. Very useful for blocking red and green shells, but provides no use whatsoever to players who have nothing to hit or are stuck in a position where they need a ranged item or obstacle item.** The Fire Flower can take your coin meter down in a matter of seconds, and often pummels you endlessly. One can only imagine why they brought it back in ''Mario Kart 8''.** The system of dropping held items since ''Double Dash!!'' when hit by certain items from opposing racers. It's particularly painful when you are hit by a Spiny Shell and lose everything you were using or saving.* SoOkayItsAverage: The general consensus of ''Super Circuit''. Compared to ''64'' and later installments, it doesn't do anything innovative, but it's still a decently fun game with a catchy soundtrack.* SurpriseDifficulty: Any long time fan of the series will tell you to not be fooled by the colorful visuals and mellow settings since the games tend to be quite difficult at times, especially on the [[HarderThanHard [=150cc=] difficulty]].* ThatOneAchievement:** Beating staff ghost times in ''Mario Kart Wii''. Now, beating a staff ghost in this game is not as simple as "overcome this record to win". For your record to be actually counted as "staff ghost beaten", you don't just beat the staff ghost, ''you have to be about 7 seconds ahead of the staff'', and considering the records most of them have set, and a lot of tracks already being ThatOneLevel, you really need to be damn near ''perfect''.** Getting the highest ranking in each cup can seem arbitrary at times. Oftentimes one can race perfectly and get first in each track, yet still not have received a triple-star ranking. Luckily, ''8'' changes the system to be more predictable; getting first in every race guarantees a triple-star ranking.** On that note, perfecting every engine class can also be a pain in the neck. 50cc is simple, and 100cc is manageable, but what about 150cc? Or [[HarderThanHard Mirror]], for that matter? ''8'' once again simplifies things so that your ranking carries over into lower engine classes, but Mirror is still counted separately. And then there's [[UpToEleven 200cc]], which is nearly impossible without inhuman reflexes.* ThatOneAttack:** Spiny Shells, the bane of any first place racer. It's practically a guaranteed hit, and in single player seems to come in droves.** Thunder. It comes without warning, you drop your item on hand, there's very few ways to defend against it otherwise, and as if that wasn't bad enough you go slower for a while. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking It also messes up the music for its duration]].* ThatOneLevel: There's bound to be at least one in each game.** Toad's Turnpike. Extra Cup. Now, Extra Cup normally just mirrors the tracks. For this track, the course is mirrored...and the [[DemonicSpiders traffic cars]] are ''oncoming.'' Welcome to Hell.** [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Rainbow Road]] ends up being this for a majority [[OncePerEpisode of every game]] except the really long and safe version in [=MK64=] (which averted the difficulty after the first Mario Kart), thanks to the general lack of railings and the abundance of sharp turns and narrow pathways. That's disregarding everyone trying to throw explosive flying shells at you.** Mushroom Gorge in the Wii version. At least 1/4th of the track is over an abyss with only bouncy mushrooms to launch yourself across to another mushroom until you hit the other side. Hitting the mushrooms at a wrong angle will most likely throw you into the pit. Using a Bullet Bill while over the mushroom pit can also be disastrous if the power up runs out when you're over the pit instead of a mushroom or the ground. Even simply going too fast with a mushroom item or a star can throw you into the abyss. To make matters worse, you also have to hope people don't try to target you with a red shell, spiny shell, or a thunderbolt as you cross the gap. ''And to even think it's just the third track in the game...''** Baby Park in ''Double Dash'' is also just the third track in the game, is named after the baby Mario Bros, is just an oval with two turns, has no hazards, and is so small that racers must do seven laps instead of three. So what makes it so hard? Basically, the track is so small and item boxes so plentiful that what would be a simple back-and-forth battle in other tracks becomes a chaotic maelstrom in Baby Park's tight spaces. It's also not very hard to drop behind most of the racers, grab a powerful Special Item, then launch it and blast to first in a matter of seconds, only for that to happen to you because of all the people you knocked behind you. And so on and so forth...** Also from ''Double Dash'' is Dino Dino Jungle. Extremely sharp curves (especially on [=150cc/=]Mirror) and horribly placed dinosaur obstacles (including one that takes up half the space on an already narrow bridge, which means that driving into it guarantees you'll fly off the course) makes it an extremely difficult level, even by Special Cup standards.** Mushroom City from ''Double Dash'' (at least on 150cc) deserves a mention. Basically think Mirror Mode Toad's Turnpike, only far more chaotic. It is wider than the aforementioned course, but the vehicles coming through are relentless, and at times, they seem to home in on you. The Bob-omb car and Wiggler buses barreling down the track are especially nasty due to the massive stun of the former and extreme length of the latter.** Maka Wuhu was one in ''7'''s online mode, due to an infamous [[GameBreakingBug glitch]] which was easily abused. This has been fixed, as of May 2012.** Lakeside Park in ''Super Circuit'' has ramps that can make you lose lots of time.** Sunshine Airport in ''8'', because of how common it is online. If you're playing without the DLC Packs, expect to see it picked very often.* TierInducedScrappy: More than a few across the series, whether it be vehicles or characters:** In ''DS'', the Dry Bomber is far and away the best kart for snaking. The Egg 1 and Poltergust 4000 aren't far behind.** Funky Kong, Daisy, Baby Daisy, and Miis are abused in ''Wii'' due to their crazy stat boosts.** Bikes in ''Wii'' due to their wheelie ability and generally higher stats leading to them being undeniably better than karts, so much that "Funky Bike Wii" became a nickname for the game.** Heavyweights have been at both ends of the spectrum. In earlier games, heavy characters take a ''long'' time to get going, thus limiting their usefulness. In later games however, the customization feature and stat boosts have rendered it possible for players to go at insane speeds with them, particularly with Bowser, Wario, Morton, Rosalina, and heavy Miis in ''8''.* UnderusedGameMechanic: As far as the ''Arcade GP'' lineup goes, ''Arcade GP'' and ''Arcade GP 2'' have time attack modes much like the rest f the series, but ''Arcade GP DX'' conspicuously does not, not even in Japanese builds.* UnexpectedCharacter:** Some of the (so-far) one-off characters can qualify, such as Petey Piranha in ''Double Dash!!'', R.O.B. in ''DS'', Funky Kong in ''Wii'', Honey Queen in ''7'', and all seven Koopalings in ''8''. Definitely applies to the characters who were created just for these games, such as Toadette, Baby Daisy, Baby Rosalina and Pink Gold Peach.** [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], [[VideoGame/AnimalCrossing Isabelle and Villager]] are DLC for ''8''. Although people often talked about how it would be fun to have other Nintendo characters in ''Mario Kart'' (''Super Smash Kart'', anyone?), no one expected it to actually happen, especially in Link's case.* ViewerGenderConfusion:** It's very easy to mistake Wiggler in ''7'' for a girl with the feminine voice and the flower, but [[AllThereInTheManual according to the bios, it's a guy.]] This [[ShesAManInJapan depends on the translation]], though, like Petey Piranha.** Many people initially mistook Toad for a female in ''Mario Kart 64'' because of his localized voice (it's more masculine in the Japanese version), which is the reason for the more raspy voice Toad continues to have to this day. Ironically, Toad has been voiced predominantly by female voice actors since then, while the ''64'' voice actor is ''male''.* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Pretty much any version of Rainbow Road. They're outer-space roads made of solid, rainbow light -- enough said.----